Rocket Premieres in Toronto : Football: Ismail expected to make pro debut for Argonauts tonight. Coach says he will do a lot.

The jetliner, trimmed in silver and black, taxied from the runway Wednesday and came to a halt.

A formation of 10 limousines drove out to meet it. As the doors of the aircraft opened, the photographers started clicking away.

With comedian John Candy serving as a one-man welcoming committee, they emerged: actress Mariel Hemingway, actor Jim Belushi, Wayne Gretzky, Bruce McNall and 25 others, heavyweights from the sports, entertainment and business fields.

And what had attracted them across the continent to spend a couple of muggy days in Toronto?

A premiere, of course.

But no one around here has ever seen a premiere such as the one they are staging tonight for wide receiver/special teams star Raghib Ismail, better known as the Rocket. He will finally make his debut for the Toronto Argonauts when they play host to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the SkyDome.

This is, after all, Toronto, not Hollywood. This is the premiere of the Rocket, not the Rocketeer. And this is the Canadian Football League, not the NFL.

But things never seem to be the same after McNall gets his hands on them. Certainly not the Kings, after McNall paid $15 million for Gretzky. Not the baseball card business, after McNall and Gretzky shelled out more than $400,000 for a Honus Wagner card.

And not the Argonauts, after McNall signed Ismail, one of college football’s headline performers while at Notre Dame, to a four-year, $14-million contract last spring that could, with perks, far exceed $20 million.

That raised quite a few eyebrows, considering that McNall, Gretzky and Candy had paid $5 million a couple of months earlier to get into a league depressed by financial problems.

Argonaut crowds averaged 30,500 last season in the SkyDome (capacity: 53,595), although Toronto sportswriters claim those figures were inflated.

But that is all supposed to change when the Rocket blasts off, the hope being that his game-breaking talents will do for Toronto in particular and the CFL in general what Gretzky’s arrival did for hockey in Los Angeles.

Their game long relegated to a lesser spot in the shadow of the more glamorous NFL, CFL officials were only too happy to see McNall sign Ismail, even though he had to make a joke of the CFL’s salary cap to do so.

CFL teams have a cap of $3 million and that includes coaches’ salaries and training camp costs. Argonaut quarterback Matt Dunigan is Toronto’s highest-paid player at about $220,000.

Officially, Ismail makes $115,000 per year with the rest guaranteed in a personal services deal with McNall.

It’s understandable that might create some resentment. And when it came, it came in waves.

McNall revealed he had been approached by Ismail’s camp about the possibility of the Rocket playing for the Raiders, who also drafted him, after the CFL season ends if rules in both leagues could be changed or circumvented.

The euphoria in Toronto turned into disillusionment.

Then in training camp there were stories that Ismail was late for practice, was missing team meals, was falling asleep in film sessions and was milking his injuries to avoid working hard.

He pulled a muscle in his left thigh and had to have several wisdom teeth pulled.

The grumbling peaked when Ismail left training camp for Los Angeles, where he had the Kings’ physician, Steve Lombardo, look at his leg.

But Ismail also attended a card show with McNall and appeared in the audience at a Dodger game and the Arsenio Hall show.

“If he thinks he’s going to go through a season without hurting,” running back Darrell Smith said, “he’s in for a big surprise. This isn’t Notre Dame. This is the big time, whether he knows it or not.”

Added Argonaut Coach Adam Rita: “He either has to put out or get out. It’s no sweat off my back.”

The Toronto Sun ran a cartoon showing Ismail with the word Rocket crossed off his back, replaced with Scud .

The leg injury forced Ismail out of the Argonauts’ season opener a week ago, a 35-18 victory over the Ottawa Rough Riders.

But by Wednesday, all sides had done their best to sweep the controversy aside.

“There’s been some jealousy,” Rita conceded, “but it’s forgotten when they (the Argonauts) see the benefits of playing with a great player.”

What about the distraction the Rocket circus has caused?

“We love the attention,” Rita said. “That’s why we signed him,”

Ismail 21, wore a big smile Wednesday. He seemed relieved that, beginning tonight, he will be trying to avoid tacklers rather than reporters.

“Once I get that first hit,” he said, “I can get all this stuff out of the way. It’s been a crazy (media) blitz since I first got here.”

Ismail shrugged off the reported critical remarks of his teammates and coach.

“I take it with not even a grain of salt,” he said. “Unless it’s said to my face, it’s like it was not even said.”

Ismail also shrugged off thoughts of playing for the Raiders somewhere down the line.

“Maybe sometime in the future,” he said. “But right now, this (the Argonauts) is prominent in my mind. It has got to be. If you ask me where I see myself three years from now, I don’t know. Does anyone really know?”

All anyone wants to know tonight is how much the 5-foot-11, 180-pound Ismail will play.

“Fifty percent on offense,” Rita said. “Somebody may go down and he would have to play the whole game. But that would be putting a lot of pressure on him. There are a lot of subtleties to our offense. To burden him with them now would be very unfair.

“If he plays well for the 50% we have him in there, I don’t worry about the other part because there could be a lot of touchdowns while he’s in there.”

There were at Notre Dame, where Ismail averaged 22 yards per reception, a school record, and scored five touchdowns on kickoff returns.

The feeling is that the CFL, where the field is 10 yards longer and about 12 yards wider than the NFL, could be ideal for his abilities.

“Eventually, you’ll see him at tailback, flanker, slotback or wide receiver,” Argonaut General Manager Mike McCarthy said. “We have a whole Rocket package to use his talents to the fullest.”

When McNall’s private jet landed Wednesday, the first thing he did was to corner an aide and ask if Ismail was definitely going to play tonight. Assured Ismail would, McNall flashed a relieved smile.

The premiere is finally here.